


Baby’s Day Out

by scribblypuff



Category: Given (Anime), Given (Manga)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I lied, Light Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, So here it goes, Some angst, THAT HURT ME, Tags Are Hard, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, You barely notice it, a biology major tries to write about music, am i funny guys?, but still, can you tell, chicken noodle angst for the soul, do i have to tag it, i mean thats exactly what happens, its like a flu shot, ive never studied music, thats not a real tag i guess, theres a very small amount of angst, this time the angst is more like a tetanus shot, very very very small amount of internalized homophobia, why is that a tag, you know when i said absolutely no angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27679360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribblypuff/pseuds/scribblypuff
Summary: “So you see...”“Why are you carrying a baby”“It’s a long story, but I need to be on a train to Osaka like right now so please take her”“Wait—“
Relationships: Kaji Akihiko/Nakayama Haruki, Kashima Hiiragi/Yagi Shizusumi, Satou Mafuyu/Uenoyama Ritsuka, Uenoyama Yayoi/Yatake Kouji
Comments: 19
Kudos: 113





	1. Haruki suffers and Akihiko dies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fic. This is happy and has no angst cuz some of yall are too sad rn. Please tell me if something is wrong in the comments. Or if something is right!

_ Click! _

Shizusumi mentally cursed himself as he fiddled with the sound settings on his phone. He looked up from the screen to make sure that his carelessness in taking pictures hadn’t woken up the pair fast asleep on the living room couch.

Fortunately, Hiiragi remained passed out, hair mussed beyond its usual carefree style, arm bent beneath his head like a pillow, and mouth slightly open and drooling. Hiiragi bore a remarkable similarity to the blond infant drooling and napping blissfully on his chest.

Shizusumi scooted away from the couch and scrolled through the photos on his phone. Picking the one that focused the least on Hiiragi, he navigates to his messaging app and sends the photo to Mafuyu with the short caption ‘All good’.

Having returned to gazing at the two sleeping beauties, Shizusumi mumbled under his breath, “How the hell did we get in this situation?”

.

.

.

**12 hours earlier**

Haruki glances at the clock and smiles in satisfaction. 

_ 10 am. Perfect, right on schedule. _

At this rate, he should be able to arrive at the venue before the band he’s playing support for does. That gives him an hour to practice beforehand, an hour of practice with the band, then he’ll play the show, attend the after-party, say his farewells, and be back home by 11 pm! Almost nothing can beat the fulfillment of a schedule falling into place.

_ Almost,  _ Haruki thinks,  _ Because the fulfillment of being on stage will always top everything else. _

And speaking of being on stage, Haruki has a stage to get to. Bending down to grab his bags, Haruki suddenly hears the doorbell ring.

That’s strange. Akihiko usually texts before showing up nowadays and didn’t say anything about seeing him off today. Haruki leaves his bags and goes to answer the door.

As soon as he opens the door, Haruki is greeted by a bubbly voice, “Hi Haruki!” 

There outside his apartment is his older sister, carrying her baby daughter and a bag (presumably full of baby supplies) larger than her torso.

She thrusts the baby into Haruki's arms and starts speaking before he can protest, “I hope you’re doing well! Doesn’t my little girl look so grown up now? She’s growing up so fast, soon she might be taller than me! Say ‘hi’ to Uncle Haruki, little one! Haruki, don’t be rude, say hello back! Anyway, I have urgent business to attend to today so you two get to have fun together! Remember to only feed her the mashed pears at lunchtime! Oh, and naptime is at noon! Bye! See you two tomorrow! Have fun!”

And just like that, Haruki’s sister was gone, the only traces that she had been there in the first place were the baby bag still on Haruki’s doorstep and the babbling baby in his arms. 

_ Five past 10. He’s definitely going to be late. _

.

.

.

**11:00 am**

Akihiko leans out the window, into the cacophony outside his little studio apartment. The smoke from his cigarette blends into the general smog of the air as the brisk wind quickly blows it away. Most days, the constant noise of his surroundings would annoy him, but today the repetitive clanging of the printing press and piercing car horns are a welcome distraction from the swirling vortex of his mind. 

He’s been awake since 5 am, and he’s been practicing the violin non-stop since 6 am because, at 6 pm, he has a competition. It isn’t that it’s a particularly big one, it’s just that he’ll have to travel a bit to get there. And while nobody ever complains when he first picks up his violin, most people on public transit don’t take too kindly to a violin screeching out the same tune over and over again over the span of hours.

Speaking of transit, Haruki was probably on a train himself by now. In fact, Akihiko would bet he was on that train almost an hour ago. Akihiko’s lips curved up into a smile as he remembered the older man’s penchant for punctuality and the ever-so-cute disgruntled face he would make when one of the other band members (usually one, if not both, of the high schoolers) were late to practice.

Akihiko pushes himself away from the window and closes the glass pane. The sounds from outside don’t completely vanish but become quieter and muted. Quieter enough, in fact, that he finally hears the incessant ringing of his doorbell.

He walks to the door and casually throws it open, expecting Mafuyu to be back with another one of his adolescent troubles, and is pleasantly surprised to see the same beautiful amber eyes he was daydreaming about right in front of him.

Except—there are two pairs of beautiful amber eyes.

Akihiko’s first thought is:  _ Shit, I should’ve used a condom. _

His second thought is:  _ Wait that’s not even possible. _

Seeing the confused look on Akihiko’s face, Haruki starts explaining, “This is my niece, my older sister left her with me for the day”

Haruki gestures out with the child, wordlessly asking if Akihiko would like to hold her. Akihiko just as silently holds his arms out to receive the squirming baby.

Apparently snapping out of whatever fantasy was playing inside his head, Akihiko responds, “But don’t you have that concert today? Actually, don’t you have to be on a train to the venue right now?”

Haruki grimaces, as if the thought of being late physically repulsed him, “I know. I told the rest of the band that I’ll be late. But if I can’t find someone to watch my niece, then I might as well tell them I won’t make it. I can’t take a baby on a 3-hour long train ride, not to mention a concert!”

Haruki seemed pretty upset. The venue was pretty big and Haruki had been excited all week about playing for an audience that large. The way Akihiko saw it, he had one choice, but once Haruki looked at him (damn those beautiful amber eyes that look even  _ more _ beautiful when they’re pleading for something) Akihiko realized he never had a choice, did he.

“I can look after her.”

And there it was. Akihiko Kaji had just dug his own grave. 

“Really?! Thank you so much, Aki! I promise to repay you but I have to catch the train!” Haruki plants a quick kiss on Akihiko’s lips then runs out the door, leaving Akihiko standing in the middle of his living room with a baby in his arms who is giggling, seemingly at his own misfortune.

Well, Akihiko dug his grave, now he has to lie in it. But thinking back to the quick press of lips against his, Akihiko knows that for Haruki, he’d even chisel his own headstone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could this be considered studying for finals if writing this is gonna let me stop thinking about Given long enough for me to actually study?
> 
> Next chapter will probably be out next weekend. Unless I find time to do it earlier.
> 
> Leave a comment!
> 
> Follow my insta @scribblypuff - i post Given edits and would love to scream about Given with you!
> 
> edit: to anyone waiting for the next chapter - i know i said it’ll be out a week from the first chapter but my mother is in the hospital right now so i wont be able to write anything until she is ok. thank you for understanding.


	2. Akihiko is desperate and Yayoi is soft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s a long story guys, but I’m back! And my mom is fine too, which is great! (Long story at end notes)
> 
> DM me on insta @scribblypuff if you want to be a beta reader!!

**12:00 pm**

Akihiko blankly stared at the cardboard box in the middle of his apartment.

From inside the box peeked out a small head of blonde hair. 

Out of everything that Akihiko tried to entertain the child with—rattles, stacking rings, that toy where you put different shaped blocks through the right shaped hole—it was the old cardboard box that he put by his trash bin to throw out later that had caught the kid’s attention.

Whatever. He didn’t have time to ponder the inner machinations of a child’s mind. Even though Akihiko told Haruki that he could look after the little girl while Haruki plays support in a concert out of town, Akihiko couldn’t just fail to show up to the competition that he spent the better part of a month practicing for. Just like Haruki said, you can’t take a baby on a three-hour-long train ride. Unfortunately, Akihiko did not have any other friends to whom he could pass the responsibility that he had been entrusted with.

As Akihiko pondered the semantics of bringing a baby to a concert hall, his eyes traced the elegant and swooping lettering on the box.

_Yayoi._ Oh yeah, the Uenoyamas had given him that box with housewarming presents of a clock and a desk lamp inside. The lamp (Yayoi’s gift) was new, obviously indicated by the unremoved price tag, but the clock (Ritsuka’s gift) had evidence of wear on it and was already ticking when he took it out of the box. Akihiko thought it was weird that Ritsuka would gift him a clock that was so clearly used, but considering the teenager’s aversion to thinking out anything beforehand, Akihiko wasn’t particularly put off. 

In the middle of his contemplation of sub-par housewarming gifts, Akihiko had a revelation. Yayoi could take care of Haruki’s niece while Akihiko went to his competition! Sure, Yayoi might be short-tempered, a little lazy, and pretty lacking of any discernible motherly qualities, but she’s taken care of Ritsuka when he was little and he turned out (sort of) fine! Besides, weren’t women supposed to be naturals at this kind of shit?

That settles it: he’ll take the kid to Yayoi, bribe her with the promise of chocolates from Osaka, and get to the concert hall right before his turn in the competition. 

Akihiko quickly gathers the diapers, bottles, and toys strewn about his apartment into the large baby bag and slings it across his body. He grabs his keys and wallet from his small dining table and picks up his violin before rushing out of his apartment. Akihiko makes it about halfway down the hall when he realizes that he should probably take the child he’s supposed to be babysitting as well.

.

.

.

**1:00 pm**

Yayoi frowns at her closet. 

“RIKKA! WHERE’S MY WHITE SHIRT?”

“HOW THE FUCK SHOULD I KNOW?”

Yayoi stomps towards her ever-so-disrespectful brother’s room, “YOU DID THE LAUNDRY THIS WEEK!”

“YEAH? WELL MAYBE-” Ritsuka’s bedroom door slams open and Yayoi bursts in, effectively cutting off any retort he might have had.

Yayoi takes a breath, preparing to chew out her little brother for potentially ruining her date night when she notices a second face turned to her in surprise.

“Oh. Satou. When did you get here?” Yayoi remarks, sans all evidence of the screaming match she was just having with her brother.

Mafuyu gives her a small smile, already familiar with the frequent bickering between the brother and sister. 

“He arrived when you were in the shower. We’re practicing” Ritsuka answers in place of his friend, ( _Boyfriend,_ Yayoi mentally corrects herself. She’s been trying to get used to it.)

“Ok…” Yayoi trails off, feeling like she’s intruding on some sacred rite.

The awkward silence is broken by a quiet voice, “Is it outside?”

Yayoi glances to Mafuyu who was staring intently at her, “Uh, what?”

“Your shirt,” he continues softly, “is it drying outside?”

“Oh…” Yayoi looks away, suddenly embarrassed at making such a big deal about a shirt when a guest was present, “I, uh, I didn’t look there. Um. I’ll go check. Thanks, Satou.”

The boy smiled and went back to picking on his cherry-red guitar.

Ritsuka looked away from Mafuyu (he had clearly been staring) and met his sister’s eyes, “Yeah, I think I forgot to take the clothes down. Sorry.” He followed suit to Mafuyu and picked up playing where the other was in the music.

Yayoi silently nodded and quietly shut the bedroom door. 

Did… Did Rikka say “sorry”? Just like that? No screaming? No blackmailing? Who was this Ritsuka and what did he do with her brother? Even though Yayoi still didn’t fully understand her brother’s relationship with Mafuyu, she knows that it couldn’t possibly be bad if it makes her brother this… this… soft?

Yayoi grabs her shirt (it was indeed outside) and finishes getting ready for her date. She undoubtedly has a great relationship with Take, but they’re both so busy that they can rarely find time to have a night for themselves. That’s why tonight is so special. They’ll go to a movie, the worst one that’s playing, and Take will complain about cinematography and make snide remarks about the director, meanwhile, Yayoi will be laughing at her boyfriend’s ability to assume an individual’s entire personality based on their choices of camera angles. Then they’ll eat dinner and Take will imitate sounds from _Super Mario Bros._ and Yayoi will find it weirdly charming. Finally, they’ll have a romantic walk back home and-

_Oh._

Yayoi guesses that maybe she’s soft too.

And that’s definitely not a bad thing.

Yayoi is ripped from her sappy thoughts by the sound of a doorbell. That has to be Take!

Yayoi nearly runs to the door, taking a moment to compose herself before swinging the door open with a big smile.

“Ta-!” Yayoi froze.

In front of her was not her handsome boyfriend but her handsome ex-boyfriend.

“So you see-”

“Why are you carrying a baby.” Yayoi interrupted Akihiko.

“It’s a long story, but I need to be on a train to Osaka like right now so please take her.” Akihiko thrust the baby toward Yayoi who had no choice but to accept, “This bag has everything she needs and there’s something about pears… Whatever, please Yayoi? I’ll get you chocolate, ok? Thanks.”

“Wait—“ Yayoi uselessly called out at the retreating man, still frozen in shock at the literal infant in her hands, what the fuck? Was this Akihiko’s kid?

In Yayoi’s dumbfounded state, she didn’t see her current boyfriend come up to the door from the same direction that Akihiko ran off to.

“Hey, Yayoi! I think I just saw Aki-” Take stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his girlfriend with a baby. The flowers he was apparently holding behind his back fell to the ground from his grasp in his shock.

Yayoi’s eyes darted from her paralyzed boyfriend to the flowers on the ground, “Aww, you got me flowers? That’s so sweet!” Yayoi cooed, voice sweet yet strained with panic.

Take shifted nervously, “Haha, yeah… and uh… you got,” he gestured jerkingly in Yayoi’s direction, “a baby!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so for those of you who weren’t aware, my mom suddenly had to go to the hospital two weeks ago. She is fine now, thankfully, but I didn’t have any time to write. My initial plan was to write this during my breaks from studying for finals but it turned out that I had to study in between taking care of my family. Anyway, last week was spent wrapping up the semester and I had severe writer’s block for Akihiko’s section and I’m not totally satisfied with how it came out but I kept y’all waiting this long. I promise updates will be more frequent now!
> 
> tldr: the last two weeks were insane but now I’m on break!
> 
> Here are the actual chapter notes:  
> (Did you notice the reference to the scene in the manga where Mafuyu sees that Ue has the same clock that Yuki did?)  
> (Aki’s views on women and childcare are not my own)  
> (Yayoi’s convo with Ue is taken from my own encounter with my sister except she was yelling about socks and said socks were on my feet but I forgot they were on my feet and got naturally defensive)  
> (Yes Ue would take every single opportunity to stare at his boyfriend. He has a beautiful boyfriend he deserves to stare)  
> (THE MARIO NOISES!!!! You can’t tell me that Yayoi didn’t immediately fall in love with the man who was brave enough to imitate video game sfx to flirt)  
> (Sorry not sorry for the straight couple but I love Yayoi and want her to be happy because I am a big Gay.)  
> (something my friend said that i desperately want to put in the story but it wouldnt fit anywhere: “you brought a baby to a GAY BAR?” — she meant “baby” as in “baby gay” but the image of one of these idiots showing up to a gay bar with a child will not leave my head.)
> 
> Leave a comment!
> 
> Follow my insta @scribblypuff - i post Given edits and would love to scream about Given with you!


	3. Yayoi panics and Ritsuka panics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses for how late this is, but it's extra long this time.

**2:00 pm**

Yayoi removed the cellophane wrapping from the flowers. They were disheveled from being dropped and more than a few of the flowers were missing several petals but Yayoi still smiled at the thought that her _boyfriend_ got her _flowers._

She rummaged through the cupboard until she found a vase that hadn’t been used since Mother’s Day to put the flowers in. It was a simple gesture but none of her exes had ever gone through the trouble before when they dated (example: _Akihiko_ ).

Setting the flowers on a counter, she steels herself to face the predicament in the living room.

Walking out of the kitchen, Yayoi sees said predicament sitting on the floor and staring intently at her boyfriend, who is staring back with just as much intensity.

“Um? Take?” Yayoi interrupts, hoping to snap him out of his child induced trance.

“How did Akihiko Kaji get her?” Take responds, not taking his eyes off the blonde baby girl for a second.

Yayoi immediately rushes to defend herself, “Well-! I-! The kid’s obviously not mine! Like, I’d never-! Besides-!”

“Yayoi, calm down!” Take puts a stop to Yayoi’s panicked ramblings, “I know. Because I’ve seen this kid before.”

“What.” Yayoi deadpans, having passed the limit of confusion that can be expressed in her voice.

“I’m pretty sure that this is Haru’s niece.” Take turns to the baby coos at her, “Isn’t that right! Where’s your Uncle Haruki?”

The baby immediately perks up at the mention of her uncle and starts babbling excitedly, “Ung! Ung! Ung!”

Yayoi sits on the floor next to her boyfriend, “Ok… Well if she’s Haruki’s niece, then why is she here? I mean, shouldn’t he be the one taking care of her?”

Take ponders this for a second, “Well, Haru told me that he was playing support in a concert out of town today. I assume that his sister probably came to him and asked him to watch her daughter in a hurry. Haru probably asked Akihiko to watch her so he could go play, but it seems like he’s busy too, so he came here to get you to watch her.”

“But we’re busy too!” Yayoi nearly shouts. The one day that she has a date just had to be the day that this happens. Just her fucking luck. “I guess we can’t do anything about it though…”

Take gives Yayoi an apologetic smile, obviously wanting nothing more than to go on a date with his girlfriend but feeling a stronger responsibility to look out for his best friend. Haruki’s niece starts babbling in Take’s grasp, unaware of the tension in the room.

“Look at the bright side,” Take starts with a teasing tone, “this can be like practice for the future!”

He chuckles, looking to his side and expecting a cold or sharp look from his girlfriend and instead only catching a brief glimpse of a glowing red face as Yayoi quickly turns away and gets up off the ground.

“W-Well! The kid is probably hungry, right? I’ll go make some milk!” Yayoi quickly picks up the baby bag and retreats into the kitchen.

Take stares after his girlfriend in wonder. _How did he ever get so lucky?_

.

.

.

**3:00 pm**

It was sort of amazing how well Ritsuka and Mafuyu meshed. Creatively, that is. When it came to music and the way they saw the world, the pair occupied the same wavelength.

However, outside of music, Ritsuka couldn’t help but feel a sense of dissonance with Mafuyu, as if he was metaphorically playing a key lower and a beat behind the boy.

Communication-wise, Ritsuka can never figure out what Mafuyu is thinking or if he even understands what is being said to him, and relationship-wise, Ritsuka is never sure of what he’s supposed to do. Every experience with Mafuyu is new, confusing, exciting, scary, and euphoric at the same time and Ritsuka wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Currently, the two are working on lyrics for a new song, which is a complicated process not only because of how difficult it is to write lyrics but because Mafuyu still has difficulty expressing himself in any format. 

Mafuyu had come up with nearly the entire melody and Ritsuka was easily able to fine-tune it and harmonize. Ritsuka was often called a genius, but something about Mafuyu must make him some, like, _ultra-genius_ for how fast they’re getting instrumentals done.

But if the two are _ultra-geniuses_ for instrumentals, then they must be _ultra-_ dumbasses when it comes to lyrics because, in the past two hours, they’ve only written one line.

That’s not to say that there’s been no progress at all, in fact, there’s been tons of progress! Mafuyu had probably come up with maybe fifty or so possible lines. The problem was that he wasn’t satisfied with any of them and ended up erasing them. The evidence of Mafuyu’s frustration was found in the eraser shavings that now littered the floor (Ritsuka would have to vacuum that later). In Ritsuka’s opinion, they were all perfectly fine but Mafuyu insists that he hasn’t found the right words yet.

In the first hour, Ritsuka was understanding, having experienced something similar when writing particularly complicated melodies. However, two hours later, there was only one line of lyrics on the paper in front of them and Ritsuka needed a break before he found himself in a break- _up_.

The dark-haired boy took off his headphones and unplugged them from the dual-adapter before rubbing his eyes and standing up.

“Let’s take a break,” Ritsuka carefully maneuvers his feet around the scattered papers, “I’m gonna get something to eat.”

“Uenoyama-kun!”

Ritsuka turns back at the sound of his name, “Yeah?”

“Can you get me some apple juice?” Mafuyu asks with slight puppy-eyes, just to ensure that he gets his way.

Mafuyu’s tactic evidently works as Ritsuka turns slightly red before grunting in what must have been an agreement to his boyfriend’s request.

Ritsuka leaves his room to find some of the buns he brought home from his job yesterday.

He’s leaving the kitchen, arms full of buns when his foot knocks back something small, plastic, and rattling.

Chasing after the baby rattle that Ritsuka just kicked was, none other than, a baby.

Ritsuka immediately drops all the buns.

.

.

.

“RIKKA! PICK THOSE BUNS UP! THEY’RE A CHOKING HAZARD!”

Ritsuka looks to his sister who walks into the hallway from the living room and casually lifts the baby.

Ritsuka does not pick up the buns.

“Yayoi. I’m too young to be an uncle.”

Yayoi bursts into laughter.

Several minutes and an explanation later, Ritsuka is much sweatier than when he first saw the baby but also much more relieved that, thankfully, everything he learned in school about babies and pregnancy was still true and there was no way his sister could have given birth to a blonde one-year-old in the span of two hours.

“So let me get this straight,” Ritsuka begins with his head in his hands, still processing the mountain of information from his sister and Take-san, “ _this_ ”—Ritsuka points to the child crawling around the couch he’s sitting on—“is Haruki-san’s niece and now because of Kaji-san, you two have to watch her and can’t go on your date?”

Take-san nodded and sighed “Yeah, unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do.”—Take-san picks up the little girl—“I just wouldn’t feel comfortable giving her to someone who doesn’t even know Haruki just so Yayoi and I can have an evening together.”

While Take was talking, Yayoi noticed how her brother’s eyes focused on the small child, “Rikka, do you want to hold her?”

Ritsuka quickly looks away, getting defensive and crossing his arms, “What? No! Of course not! I can’t!” he pauses, uncrosses his arms, and shyly looks back at Yayoi, almost pleading with his eyes, “... can I?”

Yayoi mirthfully shakes her head and gestures for Take to pass the baby. He places the child into Ritsuka’s arms, whose eyes are wide with fear and panic.

“W-wait! Am I doing this right? How am I-? Where do-?” Ritsuka’s stammering is stopped by the feeling of a small hand on his face.

He looks down to see the blonde-haired baby staring back with wide eyes.

_Weird. That’s exactly how Haruki-san looks when he gets down a particularly difficult bass section._

As if reading Ritsuka’s mind and hearing that ridiculous thought, the baby starts laughing and squirming in Ritsuka’s grasp, causing the boy to start chuckling too.

Unbeknownst to the teen, Yayoi was watching the interaction and stumbled upon a striking realization.

“Rikka, how would you like it if I did the dishes for the next month?”

Ritsuka looked up at his sister suspiciously, “...Why?”

“All you have to do is look after-”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Rikka! How hard could it be?!”

“What makes you think I could watch a baby?”

“What makes you think _I_ could watch a baby?!”

“Well you’re-” Ritsuka stops himself.

“I’m what?” Yayoi crosses her arms.

“No you’re right, there’s nothing womanly about you.”

“WHY YOU-”

Take stops Yayoi before she can obliterate her little brother, “Uenoyama-kun, I know it’s a lot, but we wouldn’t ask unless we thought you were capable. Please understand, we don’t get a lot of time together and I really wanted tonight to be special. Could you please do this for us?”

Ignoring the obvious implications of his sister and Take-san’s plans for the night, Ritsuka did feel bad for the couple. He could sympathize with them because between band practice, school, and his part-time job, sometimes Ritsuka feels that he just doesn’t have enough time to be close to Mafuyu in a way that matters.

Maybe it's because Ritsuka wishes somebody would help him make time for Mafuyu like how he’s helping Yayoi make time for Take-san or maybe it’s just because he fears the wrath of his sister, but Ritsuka ends up saying

“Ok.”

.

.

.

**4:00 pm**

Yayoi and Take-san are out the door in record time, as if trying to leave before Ritsuka has the chance to change his mind.

Finally, it's only Ritsuka and the baby girl in the house.

Wait.

That doesn’t sound right.

_Mafuyu!_

In all of the excitement, Ritsuka forgot that the reason he left his room in the first place was to get snacks for his boyfriend.

His boyfriend, who has been sitting in Ritsuka’s room alone for the past _hour._

Ah, fuck. Ritsuka is a terrible boyfriend.

In any case, he’s gotta tell Mafuyu about this new development.

Ritsuka holds the still giggling baby in one arm and picks up the fallen buns with the other, trying to carry as many of the individually wrapped goods as he can with only one arm.

Ritsuka walks to his room and fumbles to open the door with his elbow. Finally dislodging the latch, he nudges the door to open the rest of the way with his foot. 

Mafuyu was still engrossed in the music, not even realizing that Ritsuka had returned. Ritsuka braces himself and drops the buns onto the table, breaking Mafuyu’s focus.

Mafuyu’s eyes darted up to Ritsuka’s by habit but quickly shifted to the baby in his boyfriend’s arms.

Still staring at the blonde-haired child, Mafuyu slowly removes his headphones.

“Uenoyama-kun, that’s not apple juice.”

The baby immediately starts crying. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the whole section before Ritsuka sees the baby two days after I posted the last chapter and then just... stopped writing.  
> I didn’t mean for there to be angst, istg it just happened. If it's any consolation, I had a depressive episode right after…  
> Why do I laugh reading my own dialogue?  
> Do you know how hard it is to refer to Haruki’s niece without knowing her name?  
> This is sort of a double chapter I guess.
> 
> Leave a comment!
> 
> Follow my insta @scribblypuff - i post Given edits and would love to scream about Given with you!


	4. Ritsuka's heart breaks and Mafuyu's heart heals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo im back. consistent updates? idk her. spring semester for uni just started so updates will be less frequent but i will finish this because i have no social life.

**4:00 pm**

The baby’s cries were deafening but Ritsuka’s mind was louder.

The calm and rational part of his brain told him to get the baby bag—there was probably something to calm the kid down in there.

The anxious and panicked part, however, was significantly louder in assuming that Ritsuka had somehow given the baby some fatal disease within the five minutes that his sister had been gone and would probably spontaneously combust within the next few seconds.

The emotional part of him wanted to cry with the baby like Mafuyu was doing.

_ Wait… _

“Mafuyu! Why are you crying?!”

Mafuyu wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, “I- I don’t know!”

Ritsuka’s panic multiplied ten-fold. Not only did he have a crying baby on his hands, but a crying boyfriend as well. 

Ritsuka steeled his resolve and walked past his sniffling boyfriend to put the wailing baby on the bed on the opposite side of the room.

_ One thing at a time. I’ll deal with the baby and then attempt to comfort Mafuyu. _

Ritsuka left the room with a quick “I’ll be right back” to get the baby bag from the living room.

When he came back with the bag on his shoulder, Ritsuka noticed that Mafuyu had moved to the foot of the bed, watching the baby despite the tears still rolling down his face.

Ritsuka turned his focus to the baby to figure out what she needed. He kneeled by the bed and systematically pulled items from the bag and laid them on top of the sheets of music and various wires strewn about the floor.

First was a pack of diapers. But, that couldn’t be it. Yayoi just changed the baby before she left.

Then, food? No, that’s not it either, she wasn’t due to be fed for another thirty minutes.

That leaves the blanket and toys. So, she’s either sleepy or bored, but which one?!

Ritsuka takes a chance and picks out the rattle that he had kicked earlier and goes to wave it over the baby.

“Heyy! Uhh… Look here! Cool rattle, right?!” Ritsuka attempted to appeal to the baby.

The little girl grabbed onto the rattle, still grumbling, and held it with both of her tiny hands, scrutinizing the toy with a heated gaze from her amber eyes.

Ritsuka leaned back on his knees, tentatively believing that the baby had been calmed down and the crisis averted.

Just as Ritsuka was relaxing and preparing to address Mafuyu, the baby lets out a shriek and sends the rattle flying through the air.

The projectile narrowly misses Mafuyu’s face and hits the red guitar behind him. Ritsuka’s eyes widen impossibly as the instrument lets out a piercing  _ Twang! _

“Fuck! Mafuyu, I’m so sorry! I should’ve-” Ritsuka’s train of apologies is halted by the sound of a child’s laughter.

The kid was laughing? Now? When she probably just scratched Ritsuka’s boyfriend’s  _ dead boyfriend’s  _ guitar? (Ritsuka vaguely wanted to punt the child like a soccer ball)

In Ritsuka’s resentful state, he didn’t notice as Mafuyu picked up his guitar and inched closer to the giggling baby.

“Did… Did you like that?” Mafuyu paused for a second as if actually expecting an answer from the infant, but only receiving amused babbling in return, “Um. Do you… wanna hear more?”

Ritsuka stared in amazement at his boyfriend. He was a mess of tears just a few minutes ago and now he was offering to play a song for the very thing he was just eyeing with so much fear.

Mafuyu turned to Ritsuka, “Uenoyama-kun, can I play her a song?”

“Huh?” Ritsuka sat up, “Oh. Yeah, sure. You don’t need to ask me…”

Mafuyu settled in front of the bed, crossing his legs and resting part of the guitar on his thigh. He plays each string once, briefly, to check that the instrument was still in tune and then starts to play.

The acoustic sounds of the unplugged red guitar feel shallow compared to the resonating presence Ritsuka always feels from it. Yet, there’s something nice about how natural it sounds, about how clearly you can hear each note without anything else influencing the sound. It feels nostalgic, like hesitant first steps. Like the landing of a quiet stairwell, warmed by the afternoon sun.

However, the song Mafuyu was playing felt anything but nostalgic. In fact, it sounded like nothing Mafuyu had ever played before. The tune sounded light and cheery and might have even been upbeat if not for the slow tempo.

Mafuyu, who had only written songs about heartbreak and grieving, was singing a different song.

A song about a perfect love. A song about growing up together.

About chasing frogs on rainy days and eating apple slices together.

About complaining about math homework and kissing in empty classrooms.

About staying up late and whispering “I love you” under the sheets.

It was a love song.

It was a song about Yuki.

**4:30 pm**

.

.

.

The day that Ugetsu taught Mafuyu about keys was a fall day that really felt like the transition between summer and winter.

It was the type of day that you’d wear a short-sleeved shirt because it’s practically still summer, but you’d tie a sweatshirt around your waist because the wind is strong enough to sway the trees and send a chill down your spine.

Mafuyu didn’t bring a sweatshirt though. It was basically summer after all.

Ugetsu doesn’t really give lessons, per se. It’s more that he’ll pick up on what Mafuyu doesn’t know and fix it, or he’ll get a random thought and info-dump about it, or he’ll start complaining about a piece and Mafuyu will end up actually learning something.

This time, it was complaining. 

There was a toothpaste commercial that was  _ always _ on T.V. A brand that everyone’s heard about but no one really uses. Like Pepsi. The issue with this commercial, however, was the infamously catchy jingle.

Mafuyu had been unable to get the tune out of his head and was humming it under his breath when Ugetsu suddenly slammed his mug down on the counter behind him.

“That. Tune.” Ugetsu rushed over and started scribbling on a piece of paper.

He held up the paper with four different key signatures, “Do you know what these are?”

Mafuyu nods his head and goes to play the corresponding scales on his guitar.

Ugetsu stops him mid-A major scale, “No. Do you know what they  _ mean _ ?”

Mafuyu looks at the strings of his guitar pensively and then starts playing the A major scale again.

Ugetsu puts a hand on the guitar this time, “No.”

He goes to pick up his violin and starts playing. It isn’t anything recognizable or particularly remarkable, but it’s obviously in A major.

Ugetsu stops his playing and whips around to Mafuyu, who is watching intently, "Pop songs, catchy tunes, all that uncultured stuff is written in A major because it's happy and uplifting." He repositions his bow, “Now listen to this.”

Ugetsu starts playing again, but this time the music is sadder, more melancholy. Yet, Mafuyu recognizes that it’s the same melody.

He sets his violin down and bows dramatically before walking back to Mafuyu, “Each key has its own emotion. It’s ok to change the key every once in a while.” Ugetsu’s smile is bittersweet, “You taught me that.”

.

.

.

Mafuyu is sitting with his guitar in front of the baby that looks mysteriously like Haruki-san.

He fiddles with the strings that he already knows are tuned while he contemplates how he’s going to play this song.

He and Uenoyama-kun have spent the past hours agonizing over lyrics to complete the song, but the problem was never the lyrics.

Mafuyu knew what kind of song he was writing the first time he strummed the rough melody. But he didn’t want to face it.

What kind of person would Mafuyu be if he made his  _ boyfriend  _ play a love song to his  _ dead boyfriend _ ?

But he can’t lie to himself either. Mafuyu can’t pretend that he only feels grief when he thinks of Yuki because most of the time, they were happy. 

There was a time when it hurt Mafuyu so bad to think that he would never again feel Yuki’s familiar presence. So much, in fact, that he encapsulated himself in the past. Mafuyu didn’t allow himself to think of the future  _ because what future am I supposed to have without you? _

But time passed.

The seasons changed.

Summer came and Mafuyu allowed himself to feel warm again. And while the cold remnants of that winter’s day may have melted away, and the sunlight softens hard and icy details, nothing will change the fact that Yuki made Mafuyu  _ happy _ .

And he wants to say it out loud, how he can sometimes look back on the time he spent with Yuki and smile, and how there is so much more than just grief in his heart.

He wants to tell everyone that he’s finally,  _ finally  _ healing.

Mafuyu strums the beginning of the song on his guitar.

He plays in A major.

He plays a love song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am sorry. i do not know how and why there is angst in my fic about Accidental Baby Acquisition. i just found out that i do not know how to write humor in Mafuyu's pov so i just wrote angst???? i guess????? also feat my main man ugetsu. 
> 
> I looked up so much musical terminology for this. I could write a research paper on the emotional characteristics of key signatures.
> 
> Leave a comment! It really does fuel my writing and I love talking to you guys!
> 
> Follow my insta @scribblypuff - i post Given edits and would love to scream about Given with you!


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